Major step towards making Sri Lanka become knowledge hub.

The South Asian mobile content conference and workshop will contribute immensely to Sri Lanka becoming the knowledge hub envisaged in the Mahinda Chintana” Vision for the Future” says ICT Agency of Sri Lanka ( ICTA ) COO Reshan Dewapura. The ICTA Chief Operating Officer said so while participating at a media briefing held in Colombo recently.

Addressing the media briefing organized by ICTA at Hotel Taj Samudra Dewapura emphasized the importance of the conference and the workshop: “ The South Asian Mobile Content Conference and Workshop that will be held in Colombo on 10th and 11th instant will go a long way in making the benefits of ICT reach all especially the disadvantaged in South Asia. ICT has a significant role in taking the development drive forward, promoting ecomomic growth. Generating employment and thus making Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries be on a par with the “developed” world. During the past five to 10 years the mobile sector has developed fast and the different segments in society, whether in the Government or private sector, cannot on their-own, properly meet the growing needs of accessing information electronic transactions etc. The ICTA, the Digital Empowerment Foundation of India, the Ministry of ITC, the Government of India, hSenid Mobile (Pvt.) Ltd. And Etisalat Lanka Pvt. Ltd. Have joined together to facilitate the Mobile Content development in South Asia.”

Referring to the mBillionth 2010 Award jury process had taken place on 11th and 12th instant ICTA COO said that the current rate of mobile penetration in the region was astounding . with the  current Indian Bangladesh and Sri Lankan mobile users being at the 700th 57th and 14th million mark, South Asia is sure to hit the billionth mark by the end of 2010, Dewapura said.

Mobile empowerment in South Asia

South Asia is bearing witness to the power of the mobile device to empower millions with information, content and services. In the 21st centaury South Asia is a mobile enable region. Mobile technology and content services delivery and changing the way the vast population in South Asia communicate, inform and get connected to meet information-content needs within larger and diverse social and economic conditions. Along with internet, it is the mobile phone platform and content delivered that is determining the way citizens in South Asia are moving towards a knowledge enabled social and economic landscape. Globally mobile phone has been the most rapidly adopted technology history. Today is the most popular and wide spread personal technology on the planet with 4.6 billion subscriptions globally by the end of 2009,accordingly to ITU. Mobile phone subscriptions in South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) exceeded 350 million in December 2008, according to information Service)WCIS. This represented 25% of Asia Pacific’s  total mobile phone subscriptions a figure that is forecast to increase by 36% to 775 million by the end of 2012.

India has reached 600 million mobile penetrations. Other countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in South Asia are also showing great results as mobile users. The population per coverage of mobile in this region is : India – 46.37, Bangladesh – 31.11, Sri Lanka – 51 and Pakistan – 59 and the trend is moving up each day. In 2014 India will have 1.26 billion people with mobile penetration of 1.01 billion, the mobile teledensity > 80%: out of every 10 Indians will have access to  a mobile device(estimate)